Black Mesa Research Facility
The Black Mesa Research Facility, B.M.R.F. for short,Half-Life: Decay is the headquarters of the Black Mesa corporation and the primary setting for Half-Life and its three expansions, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Decay. It is located in the New Mexico desert, USA. Overview in the Black Mesa Transit System.]] *The Black Mesa facility was apparently built over several decommissioned ICBM launching and testing silo complexes probably constructed during the 1950s, which was converted into a vast civilian institute for the research of almost every conceivable scientific discipline. Several Half-Life texture files names contain the word "fifties", suggesting the facility is as old as from the 1950s. Some areas are also described by characters such as Rosenberg as "old" or "abandoned"; several areas of the complex are badly run-down despite the obvious fact that they are still in use. However the surface areas of Black Mesa feature more modern construction. *Black Mesa undertakes its various scientific researches in the facility, which is very high-security complex, as each employee is required to undergo a series of rigorous security checks to access most areas. *Black Mesa is apparently self-sufficient, housing its own ventilation, plumbing, sewage, and power generation systems including a hydroelectric dam and multiple types of electrical generators and reactors, some nuclear in design. *The facility is dominated by a bewildering number of underground laboratories, test areas (including a powerful Anti-Mass Spectrometer), and administration offices, most of which contain very high-tech equipment, and even a rocket launch site. *The complex also features multi-story car parks (where only Black Mesa SUVs can be found), arsenals of nuclear and conventional weapons, and a local electric rail materials transport network. *Black Mesa is also apparently kept supplied by a conventional freight rail linked to the outside. *Despite being located in the middle of a desert, the underground and indoor sectors of Black Mesa are maintained at a "pleasant" 68° Fahrenheit (20° Celsius) at all times, enabled by Black Mesa's sprawling network of ventilation ducts. *As employees are required to live in the complex itself, Black Mesa contains many personnel facilities, including laundromats,Half-Life: Blue Shift recreation and sports areas such as lounges,Half-LifeHalf-Life: Blue ShiftHalf-Life: Decay at least one basketball court,Half-Life: Blue Shift at least one swimming pool,Half-Life: Decay a video rental outlet, fast food outlets,Half-Life: Blue Shift food courts,Half-Life cafeterias,Half-Life many vending machines and at least one bar serving alcoholic beverages. *The facility is well-populated by rest areas and dormitories for the employees of the facility. As Eli Vance reveals in Half-Life 2 that his wife and daughter lived in Black Mesa with him, it can be inferred that employees' families reside in the dormitory complexes as well. *The complex also has its own newspaper, The Mesa Times, although it is unknown if it is an outside publication or exclusively made by the company for its personnel. *In the event of an emergency, the "military" and "trained assassins", referred to as "a dangerous and very efficient clean-up crew" are to enter the facility.Half-Life: Blue Shift instruction manual This suggests that Black Mesa has experienced problems with escaped specimens in the past and that a possible intervention from the HECU and the Black Ops is a known fact among the personnel. Possibly to deal with potential escaped specimens, or perhaps being a leftover from the facility's days as a military missile complex, Black Mesa contains many automated ceiling turrets, which, when activated, will emerge from armored cupolas and fire upon any moving object in their line of sight. Personnel Black Mesa employs in its facility two main groups of civilian employees: a science personnel and a security personnel, along with various other inhabitants including administrative personnel, service personnel and occasionally the employees' families. The Black Mesa Incident Occurring on May 16, 200-,Half-Life PlayStation 2 instruction manual the Black Mesa Incident is caused directly by a failed experiment in Sector C, triggering a Resonance Cascade. This leads to the invasion of the facility by Xen creatures, and finally its complete destruction. Facilities The various Black Mesa facilities are loosely grouped into seven Sectors. Sector A Training Facility''Half-Life Encountered in all four of the ''Half-Life games, Sector A contains the separate Hazard Courses used for training scientists''Half-Life'' (predominantly to the use of the HEV Suit) and security guards.Half-Life: Blue Shift Demonstrations are provided by trained instructors''Half-Life'' PlayStation 2 instruction manual or prerecorded Holographic Assistants,Half-LifeHalf-Life: Opposing ForceHalf-Life: Blue ShiftHalf-Life: Decay whilst participants are constantly monitored by observing scientists.Half-LifeHalf-Life: Blue Shift The two known Hazard Courses are apparently built over old, disused industrial sectors of the facility, and are each divided into an obstacle course and target range. This facility can also be accessed in Opposing Force with the Displacer in the map the weapon is found in. Sector A also contains a Satellite Communications Center, housing a large satellite uplink dish. This facility is used in Decay when Colette Green and Gina Cross help Dr. Rosenberg to contact the military. Near this area is a vast semi-subterranean freight warehouse, which Cross and Green must traverse to the other side to open the locked door to the dish control room. Barney Calhoun's schedule also places the Area 4 Personnel Dormitories in this sector. Sector B Coolant Reserve''Half-Life The '''Coolant Reserve' (formerly the Section A-17 Prototype Laboratories ) apparently stores the industrial coolant used to maintain Black Mesa's thousands of computers and machines. It is first seen by Gordon Freeman when he escapes from Sector C. The section is the site of the (now decommissioned) Displacement Field Laboratory seen in Blue Shift, where Black Mesa's first teleportation experiments took place. It is powered by the Auxiliary Generator Facility. The surface level of Sector B is a Train Yard and is probably used to ship freight in and out of the facility. The sector also contains the Area 2 Administration Offices. Sector C Test Labs and Control Facilities''Half-Life Sector C is notable primarily for housing the '''Anomalous Materials Laboratories', Gordon Freeman's workplace. This area contains the Anti-Mass Spectrometer (in Test Lab C-33/a), which was the initial source of the Black Mesa Incident, the starting point of the Half-Life series. In addition to the Anomalous Materials Laboratories, the sector also contains the High-Energy Particle Laboratories and Supercooled Laser Laboratory. (the latter is never seen in-game). Sector C is patrolled by security guards from the Area 3 Security Facilities. The facility is adjacent to the High-Energy Particle Labs, and encompasses a central lobby, personnel facilities, video surveillance, and an armory.Half-Life: Blue Shift instruction manual The sector also contains the Level 3 Dormitories, which feature a library, a cafeteria, and an aquatic center with a large pool. This is the area where Gordon Freeman lives while working at Black Mesa. His dormitory (Dorm 309), which he shares with Montague, can be explored and indicates that the average dormitory room is furnished with a bed, entertainment center (with television) and a small bathroom with shower. Several areas also include carpeted lounges with wide-screen televisions.Half-Life: Decay Sector D Administration''Half-Life Seen early in ''Half-Life, Sector D is mainly a large underground complex of Administration Offices where the bureaucratic aspects of Black Mesa's upkeep take place, along with some limited research. The Administration Offices are built beneath a High Security Storage Facility, a large semi-subterranean warehouse made of interlocking Storage Areas located on the surface. The lower levels of Sector D also contain the Silo D where [rocket engines are tested. The Silo D sector is made of three silos, also named "Prop Labs": Silo D-01 - Engine Testing, the red-coded and biggest silo where engines are tested and where three Tentacles can be found during the Black Mesa Incident, Silo D-02 - Power Facility, the green-coded silo used for Silo D-01's power, and Silo D-03 - Wind Tunnel the yellow-coded silo containing a huge propeller, as well as the fuel and oxygen reserves provided for the Silo D-01 engines. Sector E Biodome Complex''Half-Life: Opposing Force The '''Biodome Complex', a relatively new area of the facility (still under construction at the time of the Black Mesa Incident, as seen in Opposing Force), contained a series of Specimen Observation Areas, where captured Xen aliens are kept and observed in artificial recreations of their natural habitats. Alongside these enclosures are Specimen Containment Rooms where the aliens are studied in closer detail. Connected to the Biodome complex are the Gamma Alien Quarantine Labs, (as seen in Decay) where even more aliens are studied. Even closer detail is seen here, including a partially dissected headcrab, a blood sample of a headless zombie, venom sucked out of a partially conscious bullsquid (the machine to which can be operated), and even a dead vortigaunt with its slave collars hooked up to a large power device, which, when turned on, reveals that the collars shock the slaves with green energy if doing things out of line. Cross and Green are sent there by Dr. Richard Keller to turn on a Beam Matrix to power the Displacement Beacon on the surface. The matrix consists of three primary-colored lasers, that have be combined to make secondary colored lasers for outlets that power certain parts of the Matrix. Then, when all three lasers are combined and sent through what seem to be multicolored Xen crystals, power flows to this machine. A crater on the surface of Sector E contains the Prototype Displacement Beacon originally designed for the safe and easy collection of Xen wild life, housed in a sewer until the time of the Black Mesa incident, at which point it had to be raised by Cross and Green. Lining the walls of the crater are three huge Xen crystals that must be deployed and charged to create a Resonance Reversal. Near these devices is also a fairly large RPG armory. It should be noted that this entire process works in a polar opposite way to the battle of the Nihilanth. The lowest underground levels of Sector E contained the Hydrofauna Studies Laboratory where aquatic aliens were kept in older decommissioned areas that have been flooded and converted into makeshift tanks. The sector also contained the Advanced Biological Research Lab seen in Half-Life, a smaller facility where the aliens were tested on and dissected by an automated robotic Surgical Unit, in ways that are likely unethical. The second level of the lab was used as an experimental weapon research lab, testing dangerous weapons such as the Tau Cannon and a large High-Powered Laser. The other surface areas of Sector E formed an Ordnance Storage Facility where vast amounts of munitions and explosives were stored, ranging from small arms to crates of dynamite, even including some nuclear weapons, one of which was stolen by the Black Ops. A room of boxes and two nuclear warheads was cluttered with tripmines by the H.E.C.U. Marines in order to slow Gordon's progress. An area of this facility, Storage Unit 04 (also known as the Level 4 Storage Unit) became infested with Race X aliens and Black Ops, while a practically abandoned industrial area with giant fan vents below that contained an alien portal that, when powered by hundreds of Sprites, brings in a creature known as the "Gene Worm" towards the end of Opposing Force. The surface of Sector E contained the bulk of Black Mesa's still-functional military facilities (A U.S. Marine Base topside), including at least three Helicopter Hangars, a Topside Armory and a Topside Barracks. The nearby Silo E High Altitude Launch Center, a silo converted into a fully-functional satellite delivery rocket launchpad. This was used by the Lambda Team, with the help of Gordon Freeman, to launch the satellite that later helped repair the Resonance Cascade in Decay and was essential in closing the Superportal in Episode Two. Finally, Sector E was the location of Black Mesa's various Waste Processing facilities, including the Biological Waste Processing Plant seen in Half-Life and Waste Processing Area 3, seen in both Half-Life and Opposing Force. In proportion to the rest of Black Mesa, Sector E was ultimately the largest area. These various facilities were linked together, and to the rest of the base, by the (largely decommissioned) Sector E Materials Transport system, a network of dilapidated trams extending deep beneath the facility from Sector E Track Control. Sector F Lambda Complex''Half-Life The heavily fortified '''Lambda Reactor Complex' was the site of Black Mesa's top secret teleportation labs. The reactor was a huge device consisting of the Lambda Reactor Main Coolant System, and the cylindrical Lambda Reactor Core. The core of the reactor consisted of four levels (Levels A-D) that fueled an extremely powerful teleportation portal on Level A, where survey Teams were equipped and sent to Xen. Sector F was linked to the rest of the base via the Secured Access Lambda Sector Transport and the Central Complex, which contains Black Mesa's Central Command and Communication Centers and a Mechanized Infantry Repair Bay. Sector G Hydro Electric Located at the lowest points of the Black Mesa Research Facility, Sector G channeled power from Black Mesa's rivers and underground Drainage Canal system. Its most prominent feature was the Topside Hydro Plant that consisted of a large hydroelectric dam-which resembles Hoover Dam-that cuts through the center of Sector E. The dam is heavily damaged by military bombardment and alien moss during Opposing Force. A large lift in was built into Sector G.Half-Life: Blue Shift However, little else is known about Sector G. A tiny chemical-filled laboratory, freight tunnels, and the Small Materials Storage Area are all else that is seen of this area. Additional / unspecified areas The following areas were either not linked to a specific sector, or their specific sector is currently unknown. *'East Personnel EntranceHalf-Life: Blue Shift'' - Only one spot of which is shown, directly in front of '''Area 8 Topside Dormitories, though there should have been more of this area elsewhere. *'Area 7 Recreational FacilitiesHalf-Life: Blue Shift'' - Whilst not seen in the game, a map of Black Mesa's tram routes in Blue Shift mentions Area 7. As Black Mesa's employees were required to live in the facility itself, it can be assumed that Area 7 contained comforts and diversions such as sporting areas, cafeterias, and other personnel facilities. *'''Area 8 Topside DormitoriesHalf-Life: Blue Shift - One of the many topside dormitories on the surface of Black Mesa, it featured a basketball court and a small train platform. Barney Calhoun lived in one of the Area 8 dorms, which resemble portable houses. *'Area 9 Transit Hub' - The Area 9 Transit Hub acted as one of the many transit security checkpoints throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility. Trams that pass through the Area 9 Transit Hub can be rerouted to both the Sector E, B, and C transit lines. *'Black Mesa Air-Traffic ControlHalf-Life'' - This building was adjacent a large airstrip, and was used to monitor and direct activity in the airspace above Black Mesa. Special clearance codes had to be entered at this building before any rocket launch can take place in other areas. *'''InfirmaryHalf-Life: Opposing Force - At the beginning of Opposing Force, Adrian Shephard wakes up in a damaged Black Mesa infirmary, which appears to still be under the control of Black Mesa personnel, who are caring for wounded soldiers and studying zombies under the protection of security officers. The infirmary was equipped with CAT and MRI scanners, which are still functional. Some areas of the infirmary, though, have been abandoned due to parasitic infestation, and have been blocked off with furniture and hospital beds. There are laser-based experiments taking place in this building. It can be assumed that the Infirmary could be located within Sector C, as the route away from that location ends near areas from the "Black Mesa Inbound" chapter from the original game. *'Level 1 Main Facility Entrance'Half-Life: Blue Shift - Never physically seen within any of the Half-Life games, the Level 1 Main Facility Entrance heavily implies that it was used as a central entrance checkpoint for all the facility personnel. The facility was only seen written on a transit map near the Sector G Main Access Lift. Behind the scenes *Series' writer Marc Laidlaw coined the name "Black Mesa Research Facility". He came up with other names during his brainstorming, including "Black Butte unreadable Missile Base" (located in Montana instead of New Mexico), "Sand Basin", "Diablo Mesa", "Mesa Diablo", "Diablo Plains", and "Fertile Plains". He states it is great fun for Valve to invent names for their creations, and then see them go out into the world and take on lives of their own. He also states he is very glad he decided to go with "Black Mesa Research Facility" rather instead of "Black Butte".Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar *As with Aperture Science, the Black Mesa Research Facility / Black Mesa logo is directly based on the company's name, appearing as a stylized mesa mountain against the sky. Trivia The Black Mesa complex bears many similarities to both the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Area 51. Gallery Pre-release Concept art File:Bmrf no smoking.jpg File:Bmrf launch key room.jpg File:Bmrf tanks.jpg File:Bmrf secu check point.jpg File:Blast pit silo concept.jpg File:Bmrf cooling tank.jpg File:Bmrf cryo room.jpg File:Bmrf catwalk.jpg File:On a rail concept.jpg File:Tentacle silo concept.jpg File:Surface tension plan.jpg File:Questionable ethics schematics.jpg File:Pit schematics.jpg File:Offices blueprint.jpg Screenshots File:0001-3dfx barney3 fall.JPG File:0002-dead barney.JPG File:0002-falling sci.JPG File:0003-sci lab early.JPG File:0003-sci outside.JPG File:0004-early lab1.JPG File:0005-sci bigmoustache door.JPG File:0006-sci panther.JPG File:0007-sci box.JPG File:0009-beatup.JPG File:0010-barney head crush.JPG File:0015-scientists crates.JPG File:0045-early barney.JPG File:0047-experiment1.JPG File:0080-sci dead.JPG File:0081-sci mirror.JPG File:0089-stealing food.JPG File:Agrunt betaflash.jpg File:Agrunt corridorbeta.jpg File:Agrunt running beta.jpg File:Barney early.jpg File:Beta anomalous.jpg File:Beta bm room.jpg File:Beta elevator.jpg File:Beta houndeye bullsquids.jpg File:Beta ladder.jpg File:Beta osprey.jpg File:Beta power up.jpg File:Beta truck.jpg File:Bigtent.jpg File:Boxart early.jpg File:Headcrabs hecu.jpg File:Bullchicken swim.jpg File:Bullchicken underwater.jpg File:Bullchicken white scientist run.jpg File:Bullchicken white.jpg File:Bullsquid guard.jpg File:Chopper+Stukabats.jpg File:Doctor HL Beta.jpg File:Early bullsquid.jpg File:Einstein old model.jpg File:Headcrab hl1 beta.jpg File:Hecu scientist beatup.jpg File:Houndeye backleg.jpg File:Houndeye pack small.jpg File:Houndeye pack.jpg File:Houndeyes under.jpg File:Ichthyosaur-beta.jpg File:Ironic injury sign.jpg File:Ivan small.jpg File:MP barney.jpg File:PA experiment2.jpg File:Panthereye walk.jpg File:Panthereye-drinks.jpg File:Panthereye-guard.jpg File:Revive barney.jpg File:Robogrunt pos.jpg File:Scientist bulls.jpg File:Scientist glass.jpg File:Scientist-blackeyes.jpg File:Walkingmech.jpg File:Zombie skulls.jpg Retail ''Half-Life'' File:Hazard gina.jpg|Gina Cross as the hologram instructor in the Training Facility. File:Black Mesa lobby.jpg|The front desk of the Anomalous Materials Laboratories. File:Freeman locker contents.jpg|The contents of Gordon Freeman's locker in the Anomalous Materials Laboratories. File:AnomalousMaterialsResearchTeam.jpg|A large computer room in the Anomalous Materials Laboratories. File:Ionization Chambers.jpg|Sector C's Ionization Chambers. File:Unforseen indust pipes.jpg|A newer industrial area of Black Mesa. File:Barney Tentacles pwnd.jpg File:C1a4f0002.jpg|Radioactive waste in the elevator shaft before Smithers's generator. File:C1a4f0007.jpg|Smithers hiding on the restarted generator. File:C1a4f0005.jpg|The restarted generator from above, with Smithers on it. File:BM_freezer1.jpg|A large walk-in freezer. File:BM_freezer2.jpg|Ditto. File:Office Cafeteria.jpg|A cafeteria in the office areas. File:HL BMRF BiodomeLobby.jpg|The Weapons Research Complex Lobby under HECU control. File:HL BMRF HighSecurityMaterialsStorage.jpg File:HL BMRF StorageArea3.jpg File:HL BMRF ResidueProcessing.jpg ''Opposing Force'' File:Welcome to Black Mesa3.jpg File:Welcome to Black Mesa.jpg File:Friendly Fire2.jpg File:Missing In Action4.jpg File:Of5a20002.jpg File:Pit Worm's Nest2.jpg File:Vicarious Reality.jpg File:We Are Pulling Out.jpg File:Of2a40004.jpg File:Of4a20005.jpg File:Of4a20006.jpg File:Of4a2000450.jpg File:Xen cases BMRF.jpg File:Of5a40009.jpg File:Of1a1000100.jpg File:Of3a500044000.jpg File:Friendly Fire4.jpg ''Blue Shift'' File:Ba hazard100000.jpg|The security guard Miller as a hologram instructing Barney Calhoun in the training course. File:Bs apache.jpg File:Prax1.jpg File:Prax2.jpg File:Shirts dry.jpg File:Laundromat waiting.jpg File:Ba maint0000.jpg File:Ba power20031.jpg File:Ba teleport20015.jpg File:Ba teleport20027.jpg File:Duty Calls 2.jpg File:Mesa times scientist.jpg File:Insecurity.jpg File:My files.jpg File:Otis donut.jpg File:Suv magnum1.jpg ''Decay'' File:Colette looking at propa.jpg File:Dy accident10003.jpg File:Dy accident10001.jpg File:Dy accident10009.jpg File:Keller ctrl room.jpg List of appearances *''Half-Life: Day One'' *''Half-Life'' *''Half-Life: Uplink'' *''Half-Life: Opposing Force'' *''Half-Life: Blue Shift'' *''Half-Life: Decay'' *''Half-Life 2'' *''Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar'' *''Half-Life 2: Episode One'' *''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' Notes and references External links *Overview of Black Mesa – A composite map of the facility as seen in the original Half-Life. Category:Black Mesa Category:Black Mesa Research Facility locations Category:Locations Category:Ted Backman designs